Audit matters. This, one of the core founding principles at the Centre for Public Interest Audit (CPIA), was reinforced through each difficult moment for the audit profession in the previous decade, writes CPIA executive director Dean Beale

Several well-reported corporate failures, including Carillion, BHS and Patisserie Valerie, significantly impacted the perception of the profession.

In turn, they also raised questions about the reliability of the reporting to the UK capital markets, at a time of geopolitical volatility with the UK’s exit from the EU. As a result, scrutiny has been at an all-time high for the audit profession.

The call for change, following the systemic impact of collapses like Carillion, was immediate. In 2018 Sir John Kingman was asked by government to undertake an independent review of the audit regulator, the Financial Reporting Council. The review called for a move from voluntary funding to a statutory levy, removing any perceived conflicts through being funded by audit firms.

In turn, the Competition and Markets Authority highlighted the concentrated nature of the UK audit market. Finally, Sir Donald Brydon led a review centred on enhancing the effectiveness and quality of audit. The overarching theme? The market was operating ineffectively and action was required.

Driving change requires collective commitment, a willingness to ask the difficult questions, and an evidence-based approach to advancing best practice. Cue the CPIA. We were formally launched in March 2025, and I am delighted to be the executive director alongside our chair, Baroness Margaret Ford of Cunninghame OBE.

At the CPIA, as an independent body we aim to build greater trust in audit through insight and challenging preconceptions, and support improvements in audit quality through evidence-backed research and stakeholder engagement.

We will be the clear driving force behind a resilient and capable audit profession, one that demonstrates integrity, transparency and accountability at its core. From our inception, we have always been clear that one of our main objectives: was to provide the first independent benchmark of audit quality and trust.

The Audit Trust Index (ATI) is the result. An annual survey tracking stakeholder perceptions of audit trust which, over time, will identify emerging trends and challenges facing the profession. Launched in 2024, the Audit Trust Index

• Identifies key drivers and obstacles to achieving high-quality audits;
• Establishes a baseline for stakeholder trust;
• Highlights potential areas for improvement and innovation within the audit profession.

Our second annual index shows encouraging signs and steps towards improvement in perceptions in audit quality. Perceived value of audit has strengthened: finance directors (FDs) report 98% satisfaction with value, equity investors (EIs) 100%, and audit committee chairs (ACCs) 89%, each one an improvement on the 2024 index.

Confidence in the response to fraud risk is high, 97% of FDs, 99% of EIs and 97% of ACCs agree that auditors are adequately responding to fraud risks. However, there is room for improvement: the understanding of the audit scope and auditor’s responsibilities towards fraud remains uneven. This expectation gap needs to be bridged.

Clearer reporting is still needed. Stakeholders want audit findings expressed in plain terms and set out in a way that helps them understand what was tested and why it matters.

Independence and objectivity continue to matter. Respondents underline the importance of auditors being free from conflicts and applying a questioning mindset throughout the engagement.

Stakeholders are more confident that auditors do identify signs of financial distress and assess whether a company is likely to keep operating over the next year, but they still want simple explanations of what the conclusions mean for them as users of the accounts. Quality and transparency are important pillars of audit. We must not lose sight of this when the government’s proposed audit reforms emerge. 

Our annual Audit Trust Index will measure and track perception of audit trust and, in time, identify emerging trends and challenges to ensure that we work towards building a sustainable, well-functioning market and therefore minimise the risk of history repeating itself.